| Author |
Topic: MSA Serial Numbers |
Wallace Pelton
From:
Waco, Texas, USA
|
Posted 20 Sep 2013 9:45 am |
|
| Is there anyone now who will be able to help us decipher the serial numbers on these older MSA guitars (now that Reese is no longer with us)? |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
|
|
|
Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
|
Posted 20 Sep 2013 12:54 pm
|
|
At the moment, Michael Yahl or Donny Hinson can probably get you within a few weeks.
Since I doubt Reece kept the info under lock and key, I bet soon someone will have the ability to give you a birthday, original owner, and pedal and knee count.
Go to the other thread, and in the upper right corner, you'll see this icon  and if you click it, you'll delete the post.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
Last edited by Lane Gray on 20 Sep 2013 6:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Kyle Bennett
From:
Dallas, TX USA
|
Posted 20 Sep 2013 6:30 pm
|
|
| I now have all of the MSA serial number books. Just email me and I'll try to provide you the date of manufacture: kyle@msapedalsteels.com. |
|
|
|
Wallace Pelton
From:
Waco, Texas, USA
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 4:27 am
|
|
| Thanks everyone for the information. Kyle, I will get my serial number to you first chance I get. |
|
|
|
Wallace Pelton
From:
Waco, Texas, USA
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 4:28 am
|
|
| Thanks everyone for the information. Kyle, I will get my serial number to you first chance I get. |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 8:07 am
|
|
| what is the fascination people have about knowing what day their steel was made? |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 8:08 am
|
|
| is it an astrological thing? |
|
|
|
Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 8:57 am
|
|
I don't see it as a fascination thing, more just idle curiosity, and it also usually tells something about the instrument. Would you rather have a Tele built "somewhere near the middle of the 20th century", or one built in June of 1952?  |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 9:56 am
|
|
| right donny, but the difference here is a vintage telecaster versus a muffled sounding mass produced 70's or 80's msa. the tele has value...tha msa, not so much. |
|
|
|
Lane Gray
From:
Topeka, KS
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 1:10 pm
|
|
Muffled? Both MSAs I've owned have been clear and bright.
_________________
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects |
|
|
|
Greg Johnson
From:
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, USA
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 1:27 pm
|
|
| Quote: |
| muffled sounding mass produced 70's or 80's msa. the tele has value...tha msa, not so much. |
I think value is a matter of opinion. And my 70's MSA by Bud Carter still sounds and plays pretty sweet. Just saying
_________________
MSA CLassic SD-10
92 Emmons LII
79 Super Pro
Quilter TT
Evans FET 500
Fender Twin 65 RI
American Takimine |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 1:37 pm
|
|
ha ha..i love to stir up controversy.
however, back in the 70's many of us felt the msa lacked an edge to it's tone. these days though, with more amps and pickups and things to use, that may not be an issue.
mechanically, the msa set the bar very high. |
|
|
|
chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 2:04 pm
|
|
no mike, i meant the msa's...
now those 70's tele's are another story. i remember being disappointed when they came out with the maple cap neck with no skunk stripe....but some people like them. didn't they go to a three bolt neck attachment , too, for awhile?
back to msa tone..an example is curly chalker with a muffled tone that worked great for him.
not every instrument has to have the same sound and that's where variety and uniqueness come into play.
one guitar's crappy sound may be someone else's inspiration of genius.
edit for mike..left this up to address the tele era.
another steel with a different sound was the sierra that buddy played for a while.seemed less bright but was cool for the way he played it. |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
Posted 21 Sep 2013 5:55 pm
|
|
Chris, I have one of those maple cap tele's. The date stamped on it is 1968. I had bought another tele the previous day, but when i played this one, I felt it was vastly superior to the other one, and grabbed it, and sold the first one. I've been told that it was probably assembled by CBS employees from parts made by Leo Fender, and the maple neck with the cap was only made during the last 2 or 3 years Fender owned the company, and dropped when CBS took over.
Getting back to MSA, if I may make an analogy, an Emmons or a Sho Bud can be compared to a Tele or Strat, while an MSA is more like a big Gibson hollow body. The Gibson will never sound like a Fender and vice versa. If you want guitar that sounds like a tele, you need to get a tele. If you want a steel that sounds like an Emmons or 'Bud, than that's what you should get. An MSA will never sound like thst.
The trick to making an MSA sound good is not to try to duplicate the Emmons or Sho Bud sound, but to tweak the amp to accentuate it's natural characteristics.
My former green steel wasn't bright and trebly, and didn't have much twang, but it had a beautiful deep rich warm midrange tone. My wife told me she thought it sounded better than my Millennium.
During my gigging years, I got a lot of complements on my tone. It was rich and beefy, without even a hint of Nashville twang.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
|
|
|
Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
|
Posted 22 Sep 2013 2:41 am
|
|
| chris ivey wrote: |
ha ha..i love to stir up controversy.
however, back in the 70's many of us felt the msa lacked an edge to it's tone. these days though, with more amps and pickups and things to use, that may not be an issue.
mechanically, the msa set the bar very high. |
The MSA tone was muffled- depending on the individual guitar.. Some of those plywood/mica bodies just sounded awful to me.. They had this thud to the sound, and no sustain.. Others actually sounded pretty lively to my ears.. When MSA went to maple/lacquer bodies, the sound came to life.. These simply do not have that muddy sound.. They sound more
"harmonically complex" to me -if that makes any sense.... MSA still used the SS pickups however, and for my taste they were still too thick and bassy, and you needed to compensate in the amp...
Truetone [or similar] pickups make a wood body MSA a much sweeter sounding steel.. I always had more of a problem with the MSA pickups than I did with their guitars in general ... bob
_________________
I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
|
|
|
Jim Cohen
From:
Philadelphia, PA
|
Posted 22 Sep 2013 4:43 am
|
|
| chris ivey wrote: |
| what is the fascination people have about knowing what day their steel was made? |
Well, how are you gonna celebrate its birthday every year, if you don't know the date? Sheesh....
Besides, Reece used to tell ya not only the date but also to whom and where it was originally sold, and with how many pedals and KLs it was originally outfitted (which might have changed before the present owner acquired the instrument). There is some satisfaction in knowing the history of a beloved instrument.
_________________
www.JimCohen.com
www.RonstadtRevue.com
www.BeatsWalkin.com |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
Posted 22 Sep 2013 8:33 am
|
|
I have to agree with Bob C about the MSA pickups. That's the one area in which they are less than stellar. I put a George L 5 position in the green one, and had the white one retrofitted with the Sierra modular system. I found the best sounding pick in that was the true tone. It made the guitar sing.
I also used a George L Humbucker a lot, when the 60 cycle hum from the truetone was too bad.
I would liked to have tried out an alumitone but sold the guitar before I had the chance.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
|
|
|
Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
|
Posted 22 Sep 2013 8:37 am
|
|
| Jim Cohen wrote: |
| There is some satisfaction in knowing the history of a beloved instrument. |
I'm really curious about the history of the Millennium I got on E-Bay. It came from an on-line store and they don't know anything, and I've been told that for some reason, MSA legally cannot reveal who the original purchaser was. I don't know why.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
|
|
|
Jan Viljoen
From:
Pretoria, South Africa
|
Posted 22 Sep 2013 11:36 pm Dates
|
|
Dates are important to us, it's part of life.
So, if we have instruments, especially this kind of personal contraption, we want to know the history.
It is the biggest string instrument that can be carried by oneself.
A concert harp need at least two people and a truck to be transported.
I know a lot of musicians who go even further and want to know the date of manufacturing of their pickups etc. They even put notes in the cases with details of where they are bought etc.
It is quite wise of builders to include the year date in the serial number.
Stradivarius started to note only the year of manufacture. My neighbour violin luthier follows that too just out of tradition.
I dont have any experience with MSA pups, but I also have notes of the detail of my Sierra pups in my case.
It is all part of the psyche of Homo sapiens.
An organ player only needs his case with music, we have to carry the instrument, amp, stool, etc.
Enjoy the games!
_________________
Sierra S10, Stage One, Gibson BR4, Framus, Guya 6&8, Hofner lap, Custom mandolins, Keilwerth sax.
Roland Cube 80XL, Peavey112-Valve King and Special, Marshall 100VS. |
|
|
|
Malcolm McMaster
From:
Beith Ayrshire Scotland
|
Posted 23 Sep 2013 3:28 am
|
|
On the Fender/Gibson thing, I remember being in the Fender factory about thirty years ago being shown round by the European Sales Manager, who took me into their "sound lab" where he proudly showed me a guitar which he said sounded just like a Gibson.He was not pleased when I said "why would I buy a Fender that sounded like a Gibson, if I wanted that sound I would buy a Gibson" , this was around CBS takeover, and they had some strange ideas.and at that time were concentrating their production on Bullit model .On pick ups I use Alumitone and Truetone both excellent .
_________________
MSA Millenium SD10, GK MB200, Sica 12inch cab, Joyo American Sound Pedal/ Jay Ganz Straight Ahead amp, Telonics 15inch in Peavey cab, Digitech RP150, Peterson tuner.Hilton volume pedal.Scott Dixon seat and guitar flight case.
Last edited by Malcolm McMaster on 26 Sep 2013 6:27 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
|
|
Archie Nicol
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
|
Posted 23 Sep 2013 4:35 pm
|
|
Interchangeable pick-ups. Thank you, Sierra and MSA. Any others?
Arch. |
|
|
|
Greg Johnson
From:
Greencastle, Pennsylvania, USA
|
Posted 26 Sep 2013 4:55 am
|
|
Thanks Kyle. I emailed him and had all the info on my MSA within a couple hours. Thanks again.
_________________
MSA CLassic SD-10
92 Emmons LII
79 Super Pro
Quilter TT
Evans FET 500
Fender Twin 65 RI
American Takimine |
|
|
|
Nicholas Ackron
From:
Daytona Beach
|
Posted 4 Apr 2016 2:34 pm
|
|
| Year please for MSA Semi Classic 1S1464 |
|
|
|
John H. McGlothlin
From:
Raton, New Mexico
|
Posted 16 Apr 2016 7:22 am
|
|
MSA 12 string Universal Vintage XL Super Sustain serial number 1C6212. I'm in the process of cleaning the changer on this guitar and doing any repairs that are needed, I am sure it is a 1970s model and it has really been used quite a bit, I had to order new legs and pedal rods and ball joints to get it back to standard height. Here are a few pictures of it.
_________________
Marlen SD 10 3 and 5,Fender 5 String Banjo, Flinthill 5 string banjo,Johnson Resonator Guitar, Ibanez AFS75T Country/Jazz Guitar. |
|
|
|
